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Cuts from sequestration could affect weather and storm forecasting if the Commerce Department delays the launch of weather satellites. "Think about the next community that gets hit with a super storm like Sandy," said Marion Blakey, president and CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association.

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Marion Blakey, president and CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association, said that sequestration is harming the "national interest" of the U.S. "House and Senate negotiators need to close a deal to replace sequester cuts with other budgetary savings, even if only for a few years, to give Congress time to work out a long-term balanced solution to our debt and deficit," she writes.

Leaders of key defense suppliers are set to meet today with lawmakers to again make their case that sequestration must be ended, warning that leaving the cuts in place will drive talented workers away from the industry and threaten national security. "I think the CEOs that are going up to the Hill are going to tell our leaders that sequestration is already having dire impacts," said Marion Blakey, Aerospace Industries Association president and CEO. "The industrial base is being undermined by sequestration."

Sequestration cuts are threatening an overhaul that will make U.S. air flight safer and more streamlined, says Marion Blakey, president and CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association. The overhaul, called NextGen, would revamp air traffic control systems so that they use GPS data instead of radar, and its funding could be tapped by the Federal Aviation Administration to fill gaps left by sequestration, Blakey says.

Sequestration cuts could force closure of some air traffic control towers, the aerospace industry fears, and air traffic controllers could face furloughs that create delays in flights. But even if those cuts are avoided, harder-to-see budgets -- such as investment in the air traffic system's infrastructure -- will be hit hard by sequestration. "The chances are excellent that the investment accounts will be hit the hardest," said Marion Blakey, president and CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association.

The sequestration cuts to defense are taking a serious toll on small defense companies, with some even facing closure, says Marion Blakey, Aerospace Industries Association president and CEO. "The small companies don't have the same access to capital, they don't have the strong internal financials," said Blakey, speaking at the Reuters Aerospace and Defense Summit this week. BAE Systems U.S. CEO Linda Hudson said her firm even is prepared to step in and invest in suppliers to ensure they don't shut down.